England Under the Stuarts by George Macaulay Trevelyan
"England Under the Stuarts" offers a compelling exploration of England's transformation during the 17th century, particularly in the context of its unique governance transition from monarchical power to parliamentary sovereignty. The book highlights the pivotal role of the House of Stuart in shaping modern democratic principles while also delving into the social, economic, and religious life of the time. Trevelyan presents a vivid portrayal of various societal classes, from the aristocracy to the emerging middle class, and addresses significant events such as the Puritan movement and the English Civil War.
The narrative examines key figures, including King James I and Charles I, and their relationships with Parliament and the populace. Trevelyan's literary style enhances the historical analysis, allowing readers to appreciate the complexities of the era, including the impact of the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London on societal perceptions and political dynamics. Ultimately, the work captures the significant developments that laid the groundwork for modern governance, while also acknowledging the ongoing struggles for religious tolerance and equality. Through a blend of narrative flair and factual detail, Trevelyan's work invites readers to understand the profound historical changes that occurred in England during the Stuart period.
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England Under the Stuarts by George Macaulay Trevelyan
First published: 1904
Type of work: History
Principal Personages:
King James I King Charles I King Charles II King James II Queen Anne Queen Mary William of Orange Oliver Cromwell
Analysis
The value of Trevelyan’s ENGLAND UNDER THE STUARTS is not in its accuracy and its wealth of detail. Its special quality is its art. From the outset of his career Trevelyan wished to write history that was also literature, and he achieved his goal especially in this book.
He became a historian at a time when the claims of “scientific” history were ascendant. He says in his autobiography that he tried to be a traditional kind of historian, relating history to literature, against a current in the other direction. Indeed, he has a style that is a delight to read. He can combine and condense without losing touch with details. He is pleased to pause to give full treatment to the social scene, the landscape, and the character of the persons of his historical period. He informs his reader of purpose, motive, conclusion, and evaluation. These qualities spring from his commitment to liberal democracy, and the reader feels Trevelyan’s constant pleasure in watching the development of English Parliamentary government, humane law, and accomplishment in the arts that grace a civilization. It seems undoubtedly true that he played an important part in inspiring historians to write readable history without losing sight of factual accuracy.
The theme of ENGLAND UNDER THE STUARTS is the exploration of England’s unique contribution to the history of the world, which came about through her dealings with the House of Stuart. For in a line of development directly contrary to what was happening elsewhere in Europe, England transferred sovereignty from the Crown to Parliament and thus laid the foundation for modern democratic government. Despotism, Trevelyan says, was entrenched throughout Europe and would have determined the future but for the events in England during the seventeenth century.
To prepare the reader for these confrontations, Trevelyan skillfully sketches the social, economic, and religious life of the various classes in England in 1603, as James I rode from Scotland to take the English throne. He shows us manor house “high-vaulted dining halls . . . hung with tapestry, armour, weapons, and relics of the chase,” hunting, dueling, manners and marriages, education, and religion (the rack, the stake, the burning town, and the massacre). He continues with accounts of the middle and lower classes, the open fields, the wilderness as yet unenclosed, disease, manufacturing, the growing towns.
He prepares us further by discussing Puritanism with thoroughness and clarity. He divides the Puritans into three groups: those who wished to modify customs of the Established Church, retaining bishops; “those who wished for Puritan coercion under a Presbyterian regime”; and “men who desired to abolish the coercive power of the church, whether Anglican or Presbyterian,” allowing congregations to form freely.
The first of the great antagonists on the scene was James I, characterized by Trevelyan as a pedant, but human, whose defect was that he “couldn’t tell a good man from a rogue, or a wise man from a fool.” In the initial three years of his reign, says Trevelyan, King James set into motion the forces that were to drive two Stuart kings from the throne. In such perceptions and phrasings lies the special quality of Trevelyan’s history. He views the century broadly and from a high perspective; he establishes a theme, and he frequently reminds his reader of the controlling motives and ideas of the period. Each action is related to the whole pattern. The Puritans petitioned James “not for supremacy, but for security,” and James decided against them. “No Bishop, no King,” he declared; “I will make them conform themselves, or else will harry them out of the land.” But when his Commons supported the Millenary Petition, the struggle was determined. That the alliance of Puritan and Commons was ominous was a matter disregarded by the king.
It is not necessary to detail the events of the century, Trevelyan’s sure grasp of fact and theme reveals itself everywhere. His sentences encompass much. There is little documentation in the conventional sense of footnoting, yet evidence everywhere supports generalization. His summary powers can be shown at the conclusion of his chapters on James I. He notes how James, having allowed the debasement of the kingship, was now mocked in the taverns, so that “when at last the Puritan idealists rode out to battle against the King, they were followed by neighbors Pliable and Worldly-wiseman, who had come to imagine by force of long political sympathy that they themselves were Puritans.”
When he comes to the climactic event of the century, the execution of King Charles I, though acknowledging that the Commission had no power and that Charles had committed no legal crime, Trevelyan nonetheless sees the action as the event that first ushered into the world of English politics “the sovereignty of the people and the equality of man with man.” Yet the people themselves hardly yet knew the significance of the deed, and “when the bleeding head was held up,” the multitude groaned. Thus the outrage postponed the kind of democratic success the leadership had hoped for. No man, not even Cromwell, could have held the Commonwealth permanently together, yet Trevelyan praises him for saving the political liberties of the people and for preventing the destruction of the free-thinkers and dissenters.
Trevelyan’s narrative moves rapidly and smoothly everywhere, preparing us for such illuminating summary and interpretative passages as those already mentioned. Nor is he less effective in his treatment of the return of Charles II, or in his description of the social picture of the Restoration. This century of crowded events in England leaves little space for Trevelyan to discuss the settlement of the colonies in America—too little, considering that affairs on one continent were reflected on the other.
In 1665 and 1666 the Great Plague and the Great Fire struck London. The fire brought opportunities for rebuilding the outdated city. Not the least of these opportunities was the chance for the reconstruction of churches, wherein the artistry of Christopher Wren was expressed. Trevelyan finds further meaning in the effects of plague and fire. They influenced the atmosphere of politics “for twenty years to come,” for they were interpreted superstitiously by the middle and lower classes, who thought them the result of “God’s anger against their governors.” Simultaneously, they also thought the fire to be the work of the Papists. Thus there was a resurgence of Puritanism not too long after it had suffered political defeat. There was also a temporary setback for rationalism. In this manner Trevelyan draws for us the complex pattern of history.
Then follow the Popish Plots, the terror, and the final flight of James II, completing the action set in motion eighty-five years earlier. In another fifty pages Trevelyan finishes the story of the century by discussing the reigns of Queen Anne and William and Mary. This extension allows him to conclude upon the note of a triumph of religious toleration, though he recognizes that religious equality was yet to come. The whole book is a model of achievement. One is everywhere impressed by the accomplishment of Trevelyan’s announced tasks—to write cultural history in a literary manner.